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(No Model.) P. A. LANE.

OIL GAN- No. 495,223. Patented Apr. 11, 1893.

NITED YATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIC A. LANE, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALE TOFRANK E. MORGAN, OF SAME PLACE.

on. CAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 495,223, dated April11, 1893. Application filed July 11, 1892- Serial No. 439,579. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERIC A. LANE, of New Haven, in the county of NewHaven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement inOil-Cans; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken inconnection with accompanying drawings, and the letters of referencemarked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, andrepresent, in

Figure 1, a side view of the can complete,

Fig. 2, a vertical section of the same; Fig. 3, a vertical centralsection with the cap removed; Fig. 4, the spindle detached.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of oilers whichare provided with some means for closing the ejector-tube, so as toprevent the escape of oil, such oilers being specially adapted for thepockets of cycles, and other purposes where it is necessary to preventthe accidental escape of oil through the ejector-tube, the object of theinvention being to provide the oil-can with means for conducting the oilfrom the ejector-tube to the desired point, and in a regulated orlimited quantity, and the invention consists in the construction ashereinafter described and particularly recited in the claims.

The body A, of the oil-can is preferably made of cylindrical shape, andthis is best made from a sheet-metal tube, closed at the bottom. Thebottom B, is made from elastic sheet-metal, and of concave-convex shapewith the convex surface outside, and so that that convex surface may bedepressed to operate as a compressor on the contents of the can, as ameans to force ejection. At the upper end of the can a neck C, isattached or made as a permanent part of the can; this neck isconstructed with an annular flange D, upon which rests a hard rubberpacking E. The neck is tubular, and into the neck the ejector-tube F, isscrewed, as shown, so that it may be removed for the purpose of fillingthe can. The neck projects above the packing-collar E, and isscrew-threaded upon its outside.

G, represents a cap, the cavity in which is somewhat deeper than thedepth of the projecting ejector-tube, and at its open end isscrew-threaded corresponding to the screwthread on the neck, and so thatit may be screwed thereon down upon tne packing E, as seen in Fig. 2.Within the cap and at the end of the cavity therein, a flexible plug H,is introduced, to fill that end of the cap, and so as to becomestationary therein. This plug is adapted to bear against the end of theejectortube, and so that when the cap is screwed down, this plug comesto a close bearing upon the endof the ejector-tube, and so as tosecurely close that end against the possibility of the escape of oil.Any oil which shall work through the screw-thread around theejector-tube,'as it naturally and unavoidably will do, will pass intothe cap, but it cannot escape therefrom because of the pack ing E, uponwhich the .cap closely fits, so that while possibly the oil'may escapearound the ejector-tube, as in all constructions of oil-cans it will do,the oil so escaping .cannot escape from the cap, but will be retainedwithin the cap. The amount of oil so escaping around the ejector-tube isslight, but no matter how slight that escape is, it is desirable toprevent the possibility of contact between the oil so escaping, andsurrounding objects, or to prevent its flow onto the outside of the canas it will do in cans where there is no protection of this cap-likecharacter.

By the peculiar construction of the cap and packing,'the oil isprevented from-escaping onto the exterior of the can, so that thesoiling of the fingers or articles with which the can may come incontact is avoided.

Within the can a spiral spring I, is arranged, one end bearing upon theelastic bottom B, of the can, and the other end toward the tube end ofthe can.

J, represents a spindle which is arranged through the ejector-tube, andis of a length considerably greater than the length of the tube; it isbest made from wire and tapering. A bend K, is formed in the Wire at apoint distant from the end greater than the length of the ejector-tube,and so as to form a shoulder or stop within the can. The spindle isconstructed with a tail L, which extends down into the spring, and thespring bears against IOC the shoulder K, on the spindle. When the cap isin place on the can, as seen in Fig. 2, the spindle is forced downthrough the tube, and compresses the spring, but when the cap isremoved, as seen in Fig. 3, the springforces the spindle outward, and soas to project the end of the spindle to a considerable distance beyondthe end of the tube. The diameter of the spindle is less than theinternal diameter of the tube, so that there will be a practicaloil-space within the tube around the spindle when it is so projected, asseen in Fig. 3. The shoulder K, strikes the inner end of theejector-tube, and so as to arrest the spindle when the desired extent ofprojection is'produced. The spindle thus projected serves asa-conductorfor'the oil,and-so as to lead it to any desired :point, the oilfollowing the spindle :after it leaves the-tube, and so that thequantity ofoil flowing may be readily seen. l o-ejecttheoihthespring-bottom 'B, is ze'rnployed, the thumb is placed upon that bottom,and pressure is produced accordingly-as more-or less oil is required.Without :the spindle'the pressure upon the bottom would eject a-quantityof oil corresponding'to the passage-through the tube, that passage xisnecessarilyof some considerable .extent in'order to prevent itsclogging, theresult of the meet such a tube without the spindle isthat-a much greaterquantityof oil is generally ejected than is requiredor de-- .sirab1e,'but by-the introduction of the spindle :the passagethrough the tube is very considerably "contracted, and the movement ofthe spindlethrough the tubeas in-the-open-' ing and closing of the capkeeps that passage clear. Again, the spindleis free in the tube when thecap is removed, and if the end of the spindle be applied to the pointwhere'the oil is to be conducted, a slight pressure on thecanwill causethe spindle to move inward,'-and so that an up and down move ment of thecan toward and'from the point to beoiled, willncau-sea play on thespindle, and a consequent free but limited flowof oil.

The spindle-does 'not operate in any sense as a valve, and care mustbetaken that the; shoulder which is formed to limit the movement of thespindle shall be such as by no moved or introduced as occasion mayrequire.

I claim- 1. An oil-can of substantially cylindrical shape, and providedwith a concave-convex elastic bottom, an ejector tube at the upper endof the camcombined with aspiral spring within the can, a spindle throughthe ejectortube, of lessrdia'meter than the internal diameter of the*tu'be and constructed with a shoulder within the can,the:length of thespindle fromthe shoulderto its pointbeinggreater than the length of theejector-tube, the said spiral spring adapted to bear upon the spindlewith a tendency :-to force the spindle outward when free so to do,.and acap overthe ejectontube, and adapted to force :thespindle into the canand close theendofxthe tube, snbstantiallyas described.

2. An oil-can,-the body of which isof substantially cylindrical shape,constructed-with a concavo-convex elastic bottom; the upper end ofthecanzprovided with a neck, and an ejector-tube therein, combined witha spindle through said ejector-itube,'of avlength'greater thanthelengthof the said tube, but of less diameter than the internaldiameterof the tube, thespindle constructed with a shoulder withinthe'can adapted to limit 'the extent of projection ofthe spindle, and aspiralspring within thee-an adapted to bear upon the said spindlewith atendency to yieldin-glyforoe it outward through the tube, substantiallyas described.

Intestimony whereof I have signed this specification in the-presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIO A. LANE.

Witnesses:

FRED O. EARLE, LILLIAN D. KELSEY.

